Flight of the Albatross
by Chaos Dragon
Summary: Ghost hunting as a halfa while trying to handle high school and eccentric parents isn’t easy. In fact, it’s impossible. And when Danny’s attempts to protect his home backfire he finds himself shipped off. Literally.
1. Preface

Preface

On May 1, 1961 the brigantine rigged schooner _Albatross_ went down in the middle of a white squall roughly 125 miles west of the Dry Tortugas, taking with her Alice Sheldon, George Ptacnik, Rick Marsellus, Robin Wetherall, John Goodlett, and Chris Coristine. The events of what happened that day in the middle of the ocean were recorded by Richard Langford in a book. _White Squall: The Last Voyage of the Albatross._ It was later made into a movie also titled _White Squall_ and distributed in 1996. The _Albatross_ was a school ship operated by Ocean Academy, Ltd. out of Darien, Connecticut.

For the record, in this one place so that there is no misunderstanding, I have no affiliation with anyone involved with the Ocean Academy, nor is any of the information I've included about it in here true to my knowledge. I could not find anything more than what is here in this preface during my research, and so I have redesigned the Ocean Academy in an updated and fictional account.

I'm not going to pretend to know anything at all about sailing either, other than the bits and pieces of things I've patched together using the internet and the library. For all that I live along the coastline of Florida, I've never had the pleasure of sailing. If there is any information that is incorrect abut the technicalities of sailing, terminology, ship design, _anything_ I fully take the blame for writing this in utter ignorance. But it needed to be written, and it could take years to learn the in's and out's of sailing.

My last concern is my lack of a foreign language and local. For anyone who happens to speak or read Spanish fluently and I have made glaring errors, feel free to contact me and I will most certainly correct the error(s). if I have made errors concerning the geography herein, I again tender my most sincere apologies. I've never been outside of the States in person—I can only assume that my imagination isn't a valid travel agency.

I have done my best to ensure that this is as accurate as I can make it without spending the next year bogged down in research. If you find errors, please PM me and let me know where and what they are, and I'll fix them as quickly as I can. (Incidentally, if any readers happen to be fluent in sailing, Spanish or South America, PM me so that I may pick your brain. I'll give you advance readings of the fic and a heads up on plot if that's a worthwhile trade.)

My final thought is that _White Squall_ was a brilliant, brilliant movie, though it is, admittedly, not a completely accurate depiction when compared to the book. The book was written by a man who was there when the _Albatross_ sank, and I can safely assume that he was painfully accurate in it. I have plans to read the book myself, but I recommend whole heartedly that anyone who enjoys this fic rent it or buy it.

I know I'm adding it to my collection.

I hope that everyone enjoys this story and bears with me as I pick my way through uncharted waters, both literally and figuratively speaking. And please keep in mind that this fic, while being able to stand on its own in the long run, is only a precursor to the events when Danny returns to Amity Park.

Chaos Dragon


	2. Chapter 1

Flight of the Albatross

1

"This is completely unfair," Danny Fenton said as he methodically shredded a piece of paper, letting it drop to the floor like so much confetti.

"It's better than military school, Danny."

"Not by much," he muttered and tossed the last few pieces of paper at one of his two best friends. He was currently perched on Sam Manson's bed—her parents were visiting their corporate offices in Chicago—and worrying over his parents' decision on how to 'reform' him. Somehow, everybody but his two best friends, and on occasion his sister Jazz, thought he was a troubled teen headed for jail.

None of them could know that it was far more likely that Danny wouldn't live to see his seventeenth birthday. Or that the odds of him winding up as a government experiment were even better. Danny wasn't going to wind up in jail. A lab rat, probably, but never jail.

"They think I'm a criminal," he muttered as he snatched up the brochure his mother had given him this morning as his father had told him that he wouldn't be attending Casper High for his junior year. The ultimatum that, if he didn't shape up, his senior year would be in military school stopped any and all protests from Danny.

But he hadn't stayed at home. No, he'd bolted, most likely only confirming their greatest fears: he was a hoodlum.

From the floor on the other side Tucker Foley popped his head up over the bed with a frown. "So are you actually going to go?"

Danny shrugged. "Do I have a choice?"

"You could always run away," Sam offered as she sat down on the bed next to him, tugging the brochure out of his hand and opening it up for a closer look.

Danny laughed at her, an unhappy sound, and she glanced up at him. "Running away is not an option."

"You did it when Freakshow outed you back in freshman year," Tucker pointed out and finally climbed up on the bed with a dusty box in hand. He promptly shoved it at Sam saying, "Next time, you get to dig under there yourself."

"Thanks," she said without her customary sarcasm. The box was old, almost falling apart, and she sat it on her lap gingerly as she opened it. She hadn't seen it since the summer Tucker had referred to, she had only vaguely told the two boys about it after the fact. But it was her emergency kit for Danny, in case he was ever exposed again.

Or in case his parents decided to send him to another country for boarding school.

"It'd be easier if I told them," Danny said on a sigh as he leaned over her shoulder, not noticing how red her face went as he poked a hand into the box and pulled out a couple of envelopes. Sealed envelopes, stuffed thick with whatever Sam had put inside.

"Are you going?" Tucker asked and took an envelope from Danny that had his name written on the front. It was Sam's small, neat handwriting, and he looked at her questioningly.

"Don't open them," she said to Tucker and Danny, both. "Those are for something specific. I just hope we never have to use those." She sighed at their questioning looks and snatched the envelopes back, tucking them back inside the box after she lifted out a smaller one from inside. This one she opened and pulled out a sleek silver cell phone and handed it to Danny.

"It's prepaid," she explained. "Anywhere, anytime, as long as you can pick up a signal. You have to keep in touch with us, you know?"

"You make it sound like I'm going to be on the other side of the world," Danny said softly as he took it, looking away from her quickly as her fingers brushed his.

"You are," she whispered back, snugly putting the lid back on the box.

"Yeah," Danny said darkly. "The bottom of the world."

Quietly Tucker took the box back from Sam and shoved it back under her bed where he'd found it. With a sigh he sat back down on the bed and took his turn examining the piece of paper that had led to the trouble. _Ocean Academy, Ltd._ Was emblazoned across the top of the first page, and underneath was a picture of a sailing ship cutting through whitecaps mid-ocean. In smaller print at the bottom was _School Ships_, and Tucker sighed as he flipped it open.

A bunch of bull, Tucker realized as he read it. Maybe not for other kids. Surely there were really some people who needed help, not punishment. But not Danny. At least not for the reasons his parents thought, because he certainly needed help sometimes. Usually medical help. He and Sam always patched Danny up after his ghost battles. That was the real irony of the whole damned situation. Danny's parents were sending him away for the things they saw.

If they had any idea about the things that they _didn't_ see, they'd have tossed him inside a containment field that even Danny Phantom couldn't phase through.

"So maybe telling your parents would be a bad idea," Tucker said out loud as he realized Danny had already though of what would happen if Maddie and Jack Fenton found out the truth about their son. Danny muttered something in response, but it was low enough that Tucker couldn't understand it. Still, it did sound a lot like he was cursing. He probably was.

"Danny?" he asked very suddenly as he flipped to the last page, his eyes going wide. "You do realize this thing says you're going to be gone for ten months, right?"

Danny sighed in frustration. "Yeah. Long enough for Amity Park to turn into ground zero for a massive ghost invasion once they realize I'm gone." He flopped back across Sam's bed, one arm flung across his eyes. "I'm not going to have a home to come back to."

Sam poked him in the side, hard, and glared at him as he winced and moved his arm so that he could look at her. "Thanks a lot, I'm so grateful that you're concerned about your best friends."

"Sam, I didn't mean it like that." Danny sat up and reached a hand out to her, trying to apologize for what he'd said. She slapped his hand away and slid off the bed, pacing across the room to lean on the wall. "Sam," Danny said again, his tone more tired than anything else.

Tucker shot a glance at Sam and shook his head before sticking his nose back into the brochure. She was unhappy, upset. He knew why, at least. And if Danny would stop and think, he'd probably know why, too. Tucker sighed. Two years of hard matchmaking down the drain. If he couldn't understand where the Fenton's were coming from, he'd be angry about it. But he could, and all too easily.

He shook his head as Sam continued to ignore Danny and, he called his best friend ten different kinds of moron silently, Danny let her without an argument, just lying there on the bed. He wasn't that stupid. He couldn't be that stupid. He was going to be gone for almost a year! How could he be fighting with Sam right now?

And he choked on his thoughts as he looked on the back of the brochure where, in Maddie Fenton's neat handwriting, was Danny's class and flight info. "Danny, you're leaving tomorrow."

"What?" Sam's voice was sharp and high, and Tucker shot her a pitying look as he held the paper out to her outstretched hand. She looked at it and then back up at Danny, her eyes dark and shiny as the hurt slipped across her face before she locked it down behind her friendly mask. "You're leaving tomorrow and you didn't tell me?"

If Danny missed the 'me' part, Tucker didn't. No, Sam was still going strong for Danny, even when he was being an ass. That was something at least. Of course, Sam had confessed it all to Tucker after the end of freshman year, while Danny was taking his second summer vacation. With his family that time, instead of with them.

Danny was slower. Much slower. He'd only managed to tell Tucker that he liked Sam the last week of school. Which seemed like years before as he realized that Danny leaving the next day wasn't the only sucky thing about to happen. School started in two weeks. Life sucked.

"Here," Tucker said as he shoved the brochure back at Danny. He got up off the bed and grabbed his PDA where he had left it at Sam's desk. "I'm going to head out. I want to get some stuff done before you have to leave tomorrow. Do you think your parents would let us have a sleepover?"

The last question he directed at both of them, and Danny shrugged while Sam laughed a little. "My parents are out of town. They've been gone for a week. They're not due back until the end of the month."

"God, I wish I had your parents," Danny muttered. "Look, if they say no I'll just sneak out." He smiled widely. "It's not like they can stop me, and they're already sending me away to save me. What's the worst that can happen?"

"Haven't you learned not to say things like that?" Tucker asked. Danny shook his head. "Yeah, whatever. If something bad happens now, I'm blaming you. I'll be back later, alright?"

"Bring something that Sam won't eat?" Danny called after Tucker. He heard a vaguely affirmative reply before the front door slammed form downstairs, and Danny looked back at Sam with a frown. "I didn't want to upset you," he finally said, collapsing back down on her bed.

She followed him crawling up to her pillows and stretching out across them as she watched him where he lay. His eyes were closed and he looked tired. More than tired, she realized guiltily. The shadows under his eyes hinted darkly at bruises, and she wondered if he'd had a black eye or two when he'd woke up that morning.

"You're really going to go?" she asked quietly, wondering if she'd prefer for him to run, or for him to give in.

He rolled to his side, blue eyes dark as he stared back at her. Then he waggled the cell phone she'd given him in front of her. "I have to, Sam. I can't run, and I can't tell them."

"I know," she whispered. "But I don't have to like it."

"Neither do I," he agreed heartily. "Now all I have to do is figure out how to keep Amity Park safe."

Sam tossed a pillow at his head. "Tucker and I can handle it. Jazz'll help."

"Jazz is leaving for Harvard in a couple of weeks."

Sam growled in frustration. "I forgot about that. Btu Danny, seriously. Tucker and I can handle most of what comes through the portal right now. You know we can."

Danny reached out and grabbed her hand, flipping her wrist over and tracing a finger down the bruises that were livid across her pale skin. "You can handle it?" he asked seriously.

"That was Vlad," she protested.

"Yeah. That was Vlad." Danny's eyes darkened even more. Sam was right. Between her and Tucker, and the equipment they could get their hands on, they'd most likely be alright. But Vlad was a different story. "I think I need to pay Vlad a visit," he finally said.

"I don't think that's such a good idea," Sam said carefully. Vlad was a touchy subject with Danny, more so lately than ever before.

"Do you have a better one? Until I can find an alternative, I'm going to have to find a way to keep him in Wisconsin."

"It'll be dangerous," Sam said as she drew her wrist out of his hand.

"Probably. For him." The smile Danny shot her was anything but him.

---

"I tried talking them out of it," Jazz offered as Danny stuffed another pair of jeans into his duffel bag.

"I know."

"It's better than military school," she tried again.

"Already heard that argument, Jazz." Two more pairs of jeans and half a dozen t-shirts were dumped in.

"Danny, I just want to help."

"Then tell them I'm not a fucking criminal," he muttered as he yanked his sock drawer out of the dresser and dumped it into the duffel. He tried shoving it back into its runners and winced when he heard a cracking sound, thinking he'd torn one or both of them out of their places. He wasn't very relieved when he realized the runners were fine. Instead he'd been holding on to the wooden sides of the drawer hard enough to crack them.

"You need to be more careful," Jazz said quietly as she tugged the drawer from his hands and slid it carefully back in. "You can't do things like that down there. You're going to have to be really careful."

"I know, Jazz," Danny said tiredly. "I know. I'm going to be around a bunch of people who don't believe in ghosts, who think I'm two steps or less away from joining a gang, and would happily turn me over to the Guys in White if they even suspected the truth." He paused and thought for a moment. "I don't supposed they wouldn't turn me in if they didn't believe in ghosts?"

Jazz laughed softly. "I just don't want you to take any chances. You're going to be with these people for a long time."

"Right. Almost a year. Mom and Dad would rather get rid of me that try and understand."

Jazz sighed. He was so _angry_. It only got worse the closer it got to him having to leave. She could only imagine how he would be when he flew down to Florida the next afternoon with no one but their mom for company. She'd hoped, really hoped, that he wouldn't take it out on her. Verbally, she had no fear that he'd hurt her. Or anyone, for that matter, who didn't deserve it. But he was still so angry. And she said so.

"You have every right to be angry, Danny. But you have to remember, they're doing this because they love you. They don't know all the facts and they're making a sound decision on what they do know." It sounded a little stilted, even to Jazz, but it was the best she could do when Danny was in no mood to hear her defend their parents.

"It hurts, Jazz," Danny said as he zipped the duffel bag up, dropping it by his door and not looking at her. "It hurts that they'd think so badly of me. I haven't done anything for them to believe I'm like that."

"But they don't know that," she said gently. "All they see are bruises, bloody clothes. The grades, the skipping classes, the constant tardies. You're hardly ever at home anymore. They really do think that you're involved in something you shouldn't be."

"I am." His voice was amused as he turned back to her. "Do you really think they'd let me keep hunting if they knew?"

"I don't think they'd experiment on you," she said carefully.

"But they'd force me to leave the town unprotected. I can't live with that," he said as he raked a hand through his already messy black hair. "There's enough insanity here without all of these other problems that I take care of."

"Did you know that Mom and Dad have been going to seminars on how to deal with teenage gang members?" she asked, trying to make him understand why they were sending him away.

"I didn't know they had seminars for things like that," he replied absently as he stooped and unzipped the bag, digging out a picture and sitting it back on his desk. When Jazz looked at it curiously he shrugged. "I don't want to lose it or anything. If I'm spending the next ten months on the water, it'll happen."

"They think you're already in a gang."

"Jazz, the only gang that Amity Park has is the A-List. And there's no way in hell I could make it into that."

Jazz laughed. He was right, and she admitted it. "At least you still have your sense of humor, right?"

Danny shrugged. "I talked Mom into letting me stay at Sam's tonight. We're going to have a movie marathon. I think Tucker might be bringing something new."

"He really shouldn't be downloading those things from the internet. It's illegal," she said.

"Can you cover for me?" he asked suddenly, desperately.

"For what? Mom said you could go, right?" Danny nodded and Jazz narrowed her eyes at him. "You're up to something."

"I need to go see Uncle Vlad," and he snarled the name. "I don't want him popping up until I'm back. I need to make sure that he doesn't."

Jazz's mouth hung open, and she said helplessly, "I can't say no, can i?"

Danny shook his head. "You can't. I'll be back in a couple of hours." Without another word two silvery white rings encircled his waist and flew around him, leaving Amity Park's resident ghostly hero in Danny Fenton's place. White hair was combed back but a nervous gloved hand, and glowing green eyes looked at Jazz before he disappeared from sight.

Jazz sighed. He'd kill her if he knew she was the one who suggested the Ocean Academy. But it really was better than military school.

---

"I don't believe that he actually agreed to it," Sam said to Danny as she dropped down on the new and improved couch seating in her family's movie theater. She passed him the bucket of popcorn before swiveling her head to look over the back of it and glare at Tucker. "You'd better be getting your own popcorn," she threatened.

"How come Danny gets to share with you?" Tucker complained as he obediently grabbed another bucket and dumped freshly popped kernels into it.

"Because Danny doesn't smother his popcorn in bacon and cheese."

"But that's the best part!" Tucker explained as he proceeded to coat his popcorn in melted cheddar and crisp bacon bits.

Danny laughed as he popped a few kernels into his mouth. "No, Tucker. That only belongs on fries."

"You're both disgusting," Sam muttered and snagged a handful of popcorn for herself. "How'd you do it?"

"Do what?" Danny asked innocently.

"Danny," Sam warned him as she grabbed a throw pillow and proceeded to smack him in the head with it several times. "_Tell me._"

He mumbled something as he grabbed another handful of popcorn, shoved it into his mouth and chewed slowly while avoiding looking at Sam. Tucker hopped the back of the couch to slide into the empty space on the other side and shoved his doctored popcorn at Danny. Danny pushed it back with a wrinkle of his nose, and glanced at Sam quickly to see if she was still waiting for an answer.

She was, still staring and beginning to look worried. "Danny? What happened?"

"Nothing. I just talked him into staying away until I got back."

She raised an eyebrow at him. She knew he was lying. He knew he was lying. And the skeptical look on Tucker's face let Danny know that he knew that Danny was lying, too. Danny sighed. It wasn't right, having anyone, much less two anyone's, know him so well. He couldn't lie at all. Well, he could when it came to his feelings about Sam. But that wasn't lying, not technically. That was just very careful denial.

Of course, knowing about the denial made it into a lie. Sort of.

"I told him that if he came anywhere near Amity Park or my family and friends, I'd make him suffer," Danny finally said carefully. He reached for the remote to start the movie, but Sam snatched it away.

"What else?" she said pointedly.

Danny rolled his eyes. "He's alive. Half alive," he amended. "Leave it at that, okay?"

"What'd you _do_?" Tucker asked, green eyes wide.

Danny shrugged and stared into the bucket of popcorn on his lap. "I tried to ask him nicely. He tried t play his mental chess with me. I checkmated him."

"That isn't an answer," Sam said.

"It's one kind of answer," Danny said shortly. It was the only one he was willing to give. He didn't really want either of them to know what had happened when he'd appeared in Vlad's private lab via his own portal. It hadn't been pretty. In fact, it had been pretty painful. And not just physically.

"Alright," Sam said softly, suddenly afraid of what Danny would say if she pushed it. Tucker didn't ask again, either, and she knew that he felt the tension around Danny, too. Instead she just pressed play and dimmed the lights, then dropped the controller back onto the couch. But even then she could still feel Danny next to her, tense and unhappy, and couldn't help but wonder what he was thinking about.

For his part Danny tried to relax, tried to enjoy the movie. But the confrontation with Vlad still weighed heavily on his mind. He didn't really like fighting, but after two years he was bound to improve. Vlad, however, was grown, his powers unchanging, and his strategies still the same. Mostly. He'd pulled something new this time, which was what had sent Danny over the edge.

_Pick one, Daniel. You may choose which woman I stay away from. Your mother or Samantha. Your choice._

Even now it still made his blood pound in fury. It wasn't that Vlad had tried to weasel himself into a deal, that he had tried to force Danny to choose between his mother and his best friend. It wasn't even that he'd chosen his mother and Sam, though he might just as easily have said his mom or Jazz. It was that Vlad actually thought that Danny might choose his mother, as always, and try and use Sam as leverage.

But Danny knew that it wasn't that simple. It was that it had been Sam. Period. That Vlad had implied she would be in danger if Danny left Amity Park. And that wasn't something Danny was going to just let go. Not a chance in hell, and if he had his way Vlad would still be feeling the ectoburns Danny had given him well into the next year. Preferably until after Danny had returned, though he doubted he'd be that lucky.

Unknowingly Danny glowered at the screen, completely ignoring what was happening on it as he stayed inside his own thoughts. It had scared him for a moment, but once it was over and done with he couldn't have taken it back even if he'd wanted to. He had made sure that Vlad was alive. He'd even stayed long enough for Vlad to regain consciousness so that he could make Vlad swear to leave his friends and family alone.

But that had taken a long time. A long time in which Danny was faced with the evidence of what he'd done. _I didn't kill him,_ he thought halfway desperately. _He was alive. As alive as he was when I got there, and he'll heal. Besides, how many times has he hurt me?_ More than Danny could remember.

But he'd threatened Sam! Danny closed his eyes and took a deep breath, willing the tension to leave him. At least it had proven a point. That Danny did indeed care about Sam. She was much more than a friend. That was the only good thing about this whole mess; the confusion he'd felt for Sam for more than two years had finally been settled. If he wasn't in love with her, he still did love her, and he cared deeply.

And it was the worst time ever to finally figure it out.

He sighed and finally opened his eyes, letting them track on the action sequences on the screen. It would be wrong of him to tell her right now how he felt. It would be wrong for him to tell her when he was leaving the next day. No, later that day, he realized as he glanced at his watch and realized that it was nearly four in the morning.

They'd made it through two movies before Sam and Tucker had asked about Vlad. They were on the last one that Tucker had brought, and if they survived it they'd have to go to Sam's collection for a new one. But the way Tucker's eyes were beginning to glaze, he was probably going to fall asleep. And Sam wasn't too far behind, Danny realized with a smile as she leaned her head against the couch next to him, breathing very even and eyes only half open.

The remote was between them, and Danny shifted the popcorn to the table on the other side of Sam and moved the remote to the other side of himself. He couldn't tell her, not really. But he could do something.

While Sam was in the half world between sleeping and waking, Danny reached out between them and took her hand in his own. Her eyes slipped closed a little more and she smiled faintly, her fingers soft and smooth in his hand, tightening for a moment before letting go and being content to just sit there in his. No, he couldn't tell her. But he'd tell her when he got back.

There was no way he was going to let her slip through his fingers. He'd rather die.


	3. Chapter 2

Flight of the Albatross

2

For all that Sam and Tucker hadn't fallen asleep till four, they were still awake before the sun had finished rising. Danny hadn't wanted to wake either of them, but his flight was at nine-fifteen and he had to be home by seven. He hadn't slept at all and he hoped it wasn't showing as he sat there with them. It was almost seven, he only had a few minutes to tell them about what he planned while he was away. He didn't dare hope that the ghosts would stay away, but for a while he expected they would.

Once word got around about what he'd done to Vlad.

"I figure it had to come from me, since it's not something he's ever done," Danny was saying hurriedly.

Sam arched one eyebrow in disbelief. "Are you sure, Danny? Just because we've never seen it doesn't mean that he can't do it."

Danny chuckled. "Sam, come on. If he could do _that_ don't you think he'd be popping up randomly? You know that every time he come to Amity Park he's driven or he flies. We've watched him head back out after kicking his ass."

Danny sat back on the sofa and raked a hand through his hair, trying not think too far ahead of what he was doing. "I know I can do it, I know it had to come from my ghost half and not his. It makes sense, I keep having something new crop up every so often. Remember when I learned the wail?" he asked, eyes flicking between Sam and Tucker. "I learned it early, and I can learn this one, too. And once I can it'll be dead easy to hop back and forth between here and… there."

The easy way he spoke was suddenly strained as the whole reason for learning how to warp through the Ghost Zone was brought back up, a viciously painful reminder for Danny as he thought once again on how very long it would be before he saw Sam again. Months, at least: this wasn't a power that would simple to learn. That much he felt in his gut, ghostly intuition if he wanted to be funny about it. He didn't really want to, he wasn't finding the situation very amusing at all.

"We can handle the ghosts while you're gone, Danny," Tucker said softly. "Between me and Sam, we'll be fine. Jazz will help when we need it, and you know Valerie will be after any ghost she can get to find out where you went."

"I know," Danny said, not wanting to tell them how much he worried about their safety. It was one thing when he was there and could put himself between them and the worst of the attacks. Hell, even the Box Ghost was dangerous under the right circumstances. Thank god those circumstances were few and far between—he didn't really want to think about what would happen if Sam and Tucker had to go up against any ghost under bad circumstances. Of course, with some ghosts they were always bad. He could only hope that the Fright Knight and anyone near his level would be leery of messing with his friends.

"But I need to put in appearances anyway," he explained, adding the other reason why he had to learn the new power. "It'd be too obvious if Phantom only came back when I do, so if he disappears for a little people will assume he just hid out in the Ghost Zone or went somewhere else for a little while."

Sam nodded. "It's a good plan, if you can pull it off. Makes sense." Her voice was soft, softer than his, and Danny couldn't bring himself to look at her. He was too afraid of what he might see in her eyes if he did.

Instead Danny glanced down at his watch before standing. It was two minutes until seven, and he didn't want his parents flipping out because they thought he might have run away to avoid the hell he was about to go through. "I have to go, guys," he said, closing his eyes for a moment.

When he opened them Sam and Tucker were on their feet, Tucker to his left looking solemn and Sam to his right, her hands clasped in front of her. He could see how tightly she was holding them, her knuckles were white and they were almost shaking. Or maybe she was holding them to try and stop them shaking, he thought. If he weren't so worried he might be shaking himself at the prospect of being away from home so long, so far away, and with his friends left behind. They'd make new friends while he was gone, and they'd forget him, and then he'd be the one left behind, and –

"I know what you're doing, man," Tucker said before he pulled Danny into a tight hug. There wasn't any of the fake hugging that Danny usually associated with Tucker's hug, it was tight and almost reassuring. "We'll be here, Danny, waiting for you to get back. Best friends. Forever."

If he'd been just a little less detached Danny thought he might have teared up as Tucker let go of him, one last squeeze to his shoulder with a hand that gripped a lot stronger than it did when they were fourteen. Tucker had grown up a lot; maybe Danny's paranoia was misplaced. Danny nodded once, sharply, meeting Tucker's eyes and wondering if Tucker could see the fear that he felt at leaving, or if Tucker would only see the strong face that Danny wanted to show. Somehow, he thought it was both, but he ignored the question in his mind in favor of following Tucker's gaze as it moved from him to Sam.

Oh, Sam. Sam, who he worried for so much. Tucker had grown and Sam still seemed so delicate and fragile. He knew that she was stronger than she looked, but she was one small, slim girl in the middle of such a dangerous situation. She was just the girl he loved more than his own life.

He reached out for her, not wanting to wait for her to do it herself. His arms folded around her and pulled her close as he held her in a hug that was gentle. "Be safe, Sam," he whispered against her hair. He felt her nod, heard her say his name softly, and then he let her go. A heartbeat later and he was shifting to ghost form, eyes studiously avoiding hers and even Tucker's.

"I'll be in touch, guys," he said. "I promise."

He didn't wait, couldn't wait, for them to say anything else. The numbness he was feeling was perilously close to breaking and Danny didn't want them to see him cry. He didn't really feel any shame at the warmth of the tears as he flew up and out of Sam's house and headed for the neon sign that was his home, still bright in the faint light of dawn. There couldn't be any shame when he felt like his heart was dying inside him, an aching, agonizing twist as he left his two best friends behind. But his face was dry and his eyes were clear when he landed in his room. It was neat, cleaner than it had been in a long time, the bed made and the black duffel bag already packed and waiting on his bed. Jazz was sitting at his desk, her eyes solemn but worried as she watched him change back to human.

"They're downstairs," she said without preamble. "Mom's already got her bag in my car."

"We're taking your car?" he asked, and she shrugged.

"Dad's following with the RV. I told them you might be a little happier if you rode to the airport in something that didn't look like it belonged in a video game."

He snorted back a laugh before it came out. "You didn't say that," he said, shaking his head but clearly amused despite everything.

A smile broke across Jazz's face. "Those very words, brother mine," she answered. "No matter what, I'm not happy about this. Even if I understand why they're concerned, I'm not happy about it."

Danny did chuckle this time and shouldered his duffle before heading for the door, Jazz rising and following. He didn't really say anything to his parents as he dropped the bag by the door and headed for the kitchen. Breakfast was in order, even if it was just cold cereal, but he didn't want to leave just yet. They didn't have to and Danny found himself wanting to draw out this last little bit of time. It would be his last breakfast in this kitchen, in this house, this town, for almost a year. If they wanted to blame him for taking his time what would that be but one more injustice added to the heap that was sending him away?

It was eight before he deigned to pour the cereal that he hadn't really eaten and had only picked out down the sink. It was soft, soggy and mushy and utterly unappetizing, and Danny couldn't imagine why he'd even poured it. He hadn't eaten more than a bite, had only wanted to waste time and try to memorize the room. He washed the bowl and spoon and left them to dry in the drainer before walking back into the silence of the living room.

"I'm ready," he said, looking at his parents full in the eyes with as much hurt and anger as he could muster without losing control of his powers. They flinched but Danny couldn't find any remorse inside him. It served them right to see how much this hurt, how much being exiled had injured him.

Where breakfast had been peaceful, if somewhat painful, the ride to the airport was cold and hard and fraught with tension. Jazz had offered to drive Danny, and Danny only, a request made as a suggestion that was shot down in less than two heartbeats. Apparently he was such a criminal that his parents didn't dare let him out of their sight. Maybe he'd go knock over a bank—but the harsh thought died abruptly in Danny's head as he realized that he'd already done that. His only saving grace was that he hadn't been in control of himself, a scapegoat that he relied on at this point. The knowledge that every bad thing he'd done had not been of his own making, had been forced onto him by circumstance and the greater good.

The greater good: three words that Danny utterly despised at this moment, his eyes meeting his sister's for a moment in the rearview mirror as she pulled on to the highway leading to Amity Park's airport. The greater good. How many times had he given up what he wanted, some thing, some dream, some piece of trust placed on him by someone else, destroyed so that he could do the right thing and save a town that despised him but as much as he hated it, Danny knew that he could never choose otherwise. To do so would be to turn his back on the person he was, the boy his parents had raised, the friend that Sam and Tucker had influenced into being.

The greater good that had his mother staring out of the passenger window beside jazz, most likely wondering where exactly she and her husband had gone wrong. They had Jazz, the perfect daughter, if somewhat challenged in the social world. Good grades, never a bother. And then there was Danny. He could easily and readily admit that it never looked good for him. Late hours, always missing curfew, grades that had once been good and had rapidly declined with his entry into high school. That alone was hard enough, Danny knew that he was a bright person, that he was capable of so much more. Just one more sacrifice in a never ending stream of them. The cuts, bruises, injuries that he could never explain to them.

Oh yes, he knew exactly what it looked like, and there was a piece of him that could never blame his parents for what they were doing.

And this, this _exile_. He didn't deserve it, he really didn't. And here he was willingly submitting, it not docile about it. It felt like the greatest sacrifice he could make, if he weren't so afraid of what would happen to his home without him there to protect it. There were so many other ghosts out there looking for a piece of Danny Phantom's turf, the haunt he'd apparently claimed as his own. So many, and he could only hope that they would stay away long enough for him to learn how to come back and defend it.

The airport was in sight now and Danny's heart cringed at the sight. The ride was too short, he wanted more time before he had to leave. God, it just wasn't fair. Nothing about it was fair, they shouldn't be sending him away, he hadn't done anything wrong! But all the same Danny was obedient to the exile as he climbed out of Jazz's car and grabbed his duffel bag from the trunk. He didn't look at his mother as she reached in and grabbed the small suitcase beneath it, blatantly ignored the click and whir as she snapped the handle out and pulled it behind her, wheels moving smoothly across the concrete of the single story parking garage.

The GAV was parked outside, if parking was what it could be called. It looked like his dad had created his own parking spot on the perfectly manicured lawn around the airport. There were already dirt churned places where grass had been uprooted by the massive vehicle, but Danny's eyes were drawn from it to the hulking orange clad figure waiting at the airport's entrance. His father was fair glowering as he waited for them, and Danny purposely let his eyes slide past his father as he walked steadily to the nearest set of doors, heading through it without waiting for anyone.

He could hear Jazz behind him trying to convince them to leave him alone, but he didn't really care. Instead Danny only stopped and waited for them to catch up, staying silent and wooden as his mother checked both of their bags and collected tickets and boarding passes from the counter. He was even more distant as the approached the security check onto the concourse, and once past that Danny knew it was just him and his mother. The prospect was far from thrilling, but Danny didn't say anything as his mother offered hugs to both Jazz and Jack, lingering with her husband as Danny stared down the carpeted walk to the half dozen terminals that made up Amity Park's small and unsophisticated airport. He didn't really have a choice, it was either that or give into the fear that welling up inside him by admitting that he was leaving. Really leaving.

"Danny?" he tried to ignore Jazz, but the slender arm that tugged him around and then held onto him was inescapable without hurting her feelings, and Jazz didn't deserve that.

"I'll be back," he told her as he hugged her, and Jazz sighed knowing that he was really talking to himself more than her. Either was she was relieved that he was hugging her—goodbyes had never been Danny's forte and she had worried about him the entire drive, not that it had been much of one. She knew that somewhere inside him was a little brother who desperately needed reassurance, and that wasn't going to magically appear from either of their parents.

So she would be the one to give it to him, since she was the only person there to say goodbye who actually knew the truth.

He let go of her and reached into his pocket for the ID that he needed to get through security, the small piece of plastic that was the only thing he carried now besides the boarding pass, and turned to the security guard to present them. He politely shook his head no when asked if he had anything else before he passed through the metal detector, and took the first step before he heard the first yell from behind him. Danny turned at it, and was suddenly engulfed by Tucker and Sam both.

"Did you really think we weren't going to see you off?" Sam breathed into his ear, and Tucker gave a dry chuckle as he added, "Not a chance, dude—you're stuck with us."

It was a gift, that was all he could think, that his friends hadn't tolerated his barely there farewell and had followed him to the very edge of his leaving. They let go of him long enough for him to give them a wide eyed stare and a faint but relieved laugh, and then Danny was hugging Tucker and thumping his back harder than necessary. Tucker returned each one with one just as hard making Danny wince a little but ultimately keeping the tears that threatened from coming out. it was almost like Tucker knew how to help, how close Danny was to giving into them just from them being there.

And when Tucker let go Sam stepped forward, eyes bright enough that Danny wondered before she slipped up against him and wrapped her arms against him, her face buried against his t-shirt and whatever she was feeling no longer visible as she held on to him. He returned that favor willingly, arms pulling her closer, holding her tightly, as he buried his face against her shoulder. Her hair tickled at his nose, but Danny welcomed it, breathing in to smell the faint floral scent of her shampoo, to memorize it, the scent of her, the feel of her in his arms. It would have to be enough, he'd only have the memory to go for a long time, and he needed it.

"I'll be back," he whispered against her neck, but this time he wasn't saying it to himself, he was telling her. It was his way of asking her to wait, to please remember whatever it was that had happened last night as she fell asleep, and please, _please_ don't forget me.

She gave him a shaky sigh. "I know, Danny," she answered, her voice muffled against his short.

Then she, too, stepped back. Danny gave her and Tucker a quick smile, and then Jazz, before heading for his father. He reached up and hugged the much taller man, not even hoping that there would be a last minute reprieve. "It's not what you think," he murmured to his father as he hugged him. "I swear, Dad." Then he let go.

This time when he presented himself to the security guard he walked through and headed down the concourse, not daring look back for fear the relief and happiness of Sam and Tucker's appearance would be too much and he'd have to give into the hurt and worry. Instead he headed for the gate his plane was waiting at and stared out at it, waiting as his mother followed him. The plane was large, but held no mysteries to Danny. Flight had been conquered years ago, there was nothing to fear, not even crashing.

He shivered at the thought and his mom glanced over at him. "Are you afraid of flying?" she asked. It was all Danny could do not to laugh.

---

Tampa International Airport was huge—Danny had never seen an airport that size or with that many people and planes. Granted, his entire flight history outside of being half ghost consisted of the single trip down to Florida from Illinois, but his mother had travelled before she'd become Mom, and she told him pointblank that it was massive. There were at least half a dozen concourses, and as far as Danny could tell double digits worth of gates on each one. But then, it catered to as much air traffic as several of the larger (not that there were many) airports in the States. His mom told him that if he thought TIA was confusing to try JFK, though she muttered something about the Dallas/Fort Worth airport being the worst one she'd ever seen in her entire life.

He didn't question it and only followed along behind her as she found the luggage carousel and tugged their bags from it with a practiced hand. There was a rental car waiting for them and Danny couldn't help but wonder at how efficiently his mother was moving, besides the fact that she'd barely said a word to him since they lifted off in Amity Park. He assumed, correctly, that she was upset with him. He just couldn't bring himself to care very much.

The drive from Tampa to St. Pete was long and quiet, but Danny couldn't help but drink in the sights. The beaches on along Lake Michigan were beautiful, but somehow they seemed to pale in comparison to the almost tropical feel in the air as they crossed the longest bridge he'd even seen. At least, it was the longest until he looked past his mother and across the waters of Tampa Bay to see two shimmering towers above the waters beyond. His mother noticed but said nothing.

Arrangements had obviously been made beforehand; the check in at the small motel near the St. Pete marina was quick and smooth. Two rooms; she obviously wasn't worried that he might make a break for it at this late juncture. But he thought about it as he sat in the darkness and silence by himself. He hadn't slept on the either of the planes, nor rested during the lengthy layover in Atlanta, and even without sleeping the night before Danny didn't sleep now. he passed the night alone, more along than he thought possible, the cell phone that Sam had given him a slight weight in his hands.

When the sun rose Danny was still awake, his eyes dull and bleary. To look at him his mother thought it was because he was tired, but Danny knew better. She would take him to this Ocean Academy, and she would leave him there with strangers who would look at him like he was a criminal. The thought of that was frightening—she was the only familiar thing he had left.

But he stayed silent as he followed her to the car, as she ate and he picked at the food she'd ordered him even when he'd shook his head at her question of breakfast, and then back into the car and to the Marina. If it had been home Danny would have been more enthused. There were dozens of boats moored in the slips along docks jutting from the two islands that made up the marina, and Danny saw dozens of sleek tanned people moving amongst and on them. Most were smaller than what he'd pictured, though he knew that the wild fancies of a cruise ship were lost to reality. There were sailboats, motor boats, several larger ones that screamed of money and made him think again of Sam.

But his eyes were drawn to the only one out of all of them that he could actually recognize. He'd seen it in the brochure, a bright picture of white paint, whiter sails, and crystal blue ocean surrounding it, but even without the picture the name emblazoned across the bow would have told him what it was. The _Albatross II_, the newest school ship to the handful claimed in the brochure. It was fascinating to look at, all shining and white with hints of dark wood across the deck and dark portholes running down the side just above the water line. The sails were furled but the mainmast was tall in the sky, as if it were trying to reach out and touch the very sun itself, while the ropes and lines that made its rigging snapped in a steady breeze across the harbor.

Beyond even that , Danny's eyes were drawn because it was the only boat not moored directly at a slip. Instead it was anchored in the darker blue waters between the end of the island where his mother was now parking, and an arm of land that jutted out to lock the harbor safely in from rough waters, leaving only enough water clear to allow a boat to sail through it easily. Even now there were boats out in the calm water, a handful queuing up to leave or return, laughing and waving as they cut through the waters past each other and into the marginally rougher water of the bay on their way to the Gulf of Mexico, and even a small motorboat headed out to the _Albatross II_.

He held his tongue as he followed his mother again, ever obedient to her wishes—for the time being—into small building sitting in front of a short, empty dock. It was brightly lit, mostly from outside as the sun seeped in through several large windows that had the barest excuses for curtains across them. The paint was a painfully loud orange color that should have been hideous with the teal accents thrown about everywhere, but someone had managed to know exactly how to soften it by hanging pictures of boats cutting through clear blue seas everywhere, and beautifully painted beach scenes everywhere that those weren't.

He completely ignored his mother as she disappeared into an office after the woman who had met her at the desk, his eyes running through the building and glancing out of the windows indiscriminately as he tried to find some equilibrium as he stood in this sunny, tropical feeling place, completely alien and some thousand miles from home. He felt so alone.

There were a handful of green leafy plants, and Danny ignored those too, before his eyes lit on a small space of wall across from the office his mother and the stranger were now closeted in behind closed doors. It was a patch of clean white in the middle of all that garish orange, almost soothing until he actually looked at it. It was a circular piece of Styrofoam, or something similar. A life ring, Danny recognized it, though the ones at the Rec Center at home were completely for decoration. The life guards had long since given over to the oblong floatation devices that afforded them better mobility while rescuing failed swimmers. But this one was old, chipped, damaged, painted name faded and completely weathered.

_Albatross_, it read, and Danny started as he looked at it and glanced out the window at the large ship moored out on the waters. _Albatross_ and _Albatross II_. Then he looked below it at the framed photo of a ship much like the one he'd just looked at, and a dozen people lined along the railing and smiling out for the picture. They were windswept, sun kissed, alive. And then Danny looked at the engraved plaque holding center stage inside the life ring, matte gold finish dull against the lovingly polished dark wood it was bolted to.

_May 1, 1961_

_In Memory_

_Alice Sheldon_

_George Ptacnik_

_Rick Marsellus_

_Robin Wetherall_

_John Goodlett_

_Chris Coristine_

As he read it, Danny couldn't help but wonder what had happened, and to wonder if whatever it had been wouldn't happen again. After all, if this _Albatross_ had gone down, and that's what he was beginning to think, then why wouldn't its namesake? Especially with Danny on board, because if there was something Danny knew about it, it was Murphy's Law. And Murphy's Law seemed to go wherever he went.


	4. Chapter 3

Flight of the Albatross

3

Sam was sure that she should be ashamed of herself. Danny hadn't been gone but a day and she was already finding herself missing him more than should be possible. Day one had actually started out much better than she'd expected, but she'd had Tucker helping distract her from Danny's sudden absence. Not that he was all that helpful. Tucker spent far too much time talking to his PDA still, which was becoming more and more disturbing the more one on one time she spent with him.

Granted, the PDA held more pictures of Danny (and of Danny and her) than anything else Sam could think of, so she could tolerate the strange relationship Tucker had with it if only for that.

"Come on, Sam, put a happy face on," Tucker cajoled her. She sighed and tried to paste one on. He winced. "I said happy, not sadistic. Did your mom get on your case when you got home?"

Sam muttered a few pithy phrases liberally littered with degrading descriptions of her mother. Of _course_ Pamela Manson had jumped straight on her when she got home. It was bad enough, according to her mother, that she even associated with Danny. But to see him off at the airport when his delinquent ways were finally being dealt with?

Oh. Oh, no. Oh, hell no.

The resulting screaming match was why Sam was curled up on Tucker's bed instead of hers, trapped listening to him talk to his PDA, his computer, his laptop, his _other_ computer, his MP3 player, and a few strange robotic things she wanted to know nothing about. Especially the one that faintly glowed. It was bad enough Tucker played mad scientist with the data they'd collected on Danny over the last few years.

To know he was also making strange ectoplasmicly enhanced and/or powered robots?

Nope, she was content with living by 'ignorance is bliss.' For that matter, Sam was sure Tucker's parents considered it their own personal religion. Otherwise Tucker might already have been seeing a shrink or two.

The mental meandering was a good sign, Sam decided. If she could consider the mental state of Tucker Foley then surely she was dealing somewhat better with the sudden loss of Danny. Even if she really missed him. Her eyes burned with the tears she desperately didn't want to feel. He was coming back, after all! It wasn't like he was going to be gone forever. Just… eight months. Not forever.

But it sure as hell felt like it.

"Sam, you're brooding again," Tucker told her on a sigh.

"I know," she muttered, eyes smarting. "I can't help it."

Tucker snorted as his thumbs danced across the screen of the PDA. "You're actually doing a lot better than I thought you'd be. Though…" He paused as though considering his words before slanting a sideways glance at her. "If it hadn't been for the fight with your mom I think you'd be crying on your bed like a little schoolgirl."

"Tucker Foley!" she shrieked, sitting up and flinging a pillow at him. He merely ducked his face to his shoulder in an effort to protect his glasses. The purpose was almost defeated by the shaking of his shoulders as he laughed at her making Sam's eye twitch until she, too, joined him. "You're a jerk, Tucker," she told him.

"Yeah, but you knew that when we met."

"You _did_ pour yellow paint all over my dress," she agreed.

"You asked for it," was all he said, because he knew she really had asked for it. Even at six Sam had hated the color pink, a fact which eluded her mother more than a decade later. "I'll give you another day or so to brood before I really start mocking you."

"I hate you," Sam muttered as she buried her face in the mattress. "But I do feel better," she admitted, letting her head tip to the side so she could send Tucker a mock glare.

Now Tucker smiled and Sam sighed at him as he smugly told her, "That was the idea. And now that you're all perky again you can go sneak into your house."

She groaned. "I intensely dislike the fact that you have so many dates."

"You're just jealous because you wish Danny would ask you out," he said blithely having long known the truth. After all, half of Amity Park could tell the truth of how the two felt about each other. It was just their own blindness and stubborn pigheadedness that had kept them apart for so long. But he'd gotten used to that over the last few years, and now that Danny wasn't around nonstop, he could needle Sam a little.

Maybe they'd finally get it together.

"Shut up, Tucker," Sam muttered. "And I think I'm going to try climbing the back into Gram's room. She'll understand."

Tucker made a vague noise of assent and Sam sighed as she crawled off of his bed. "Don't break anything. And remember, Sam. He'll be back, alright?"

"Yeah, I know." But the reply was melancholy at best. "I'll see you tomorrow, Tuck."

Heading out into the dusk Sam pulled her cell phone out of her pocket and fiddled with it. It was probably too soon to call him. She's appear clingy or something. But it was touch and go the first block between her house and Tucker's, her fingers dialing the number to the secret cell—a number she had memorized within minutes of Danny boarding the plane—light enough not to actually call him. It was soothing in a way, enough so that when her cell began to vibrate and ring in her hand Sam shrieked and nearly dropped it.

She didn't even glance at the screen as she fumbled the phone in her hands to her ear, something that she was sure she was going to regret once the screeching started. "Hello?"

"Sam!"

The smile was instantaneous. "I was just thinking about you," slipped out before she could censor the words. She could have kicked herself at that, just the type of clinginess that she was trying to avoid.

But she could hear the smile in his voice as he said, "Good; now I know I'm not going to be forgotten since I'm not there to make faces at you."

"I could never forget you, Danny," she said, this time not caring what anyone thought or made of the statement. At least she could play off the best friend card if she was making a mistake by admitting she felt something more for him.

"Good to know since I feel the same." The connection crackled for a moment as she started walking again, but it quickly cleared. "So how's everything holding up? Any attacks for me to worry about?"

"Not yet." She felt bad for admitting the yet part, but it wasn't like Danny didn't know that there wouldn't be at least a few while he was gone. "But we're ready for it, we can handle it. You just… Um, I'd say concentrate on whatever you're doing down there. What _are_ you doing?"

He snorted in disgust and she rolled her eyes at the very Danny sarcasm she could picture. "Not much yet. I'm not going out to the boat yet even though I'm the last arrival. Something about having to pass a basic swimming skills test, and getting a crash course in CPR. They tell me I'll learn the rest once I'm allowed out there."

"Well, that's nothing to worry about," she agreed. They'd all learned to swim years ago and two years taking care of Danny Phantom's injuries had taken them all past basic first aid—CPR included. That one had been Sam's idea, since ghost fighting was risky to all of them. "Are you still very angry?"

"You have no idea," he bit out, and Sam winced. He sighed then. "But there's nothing to do about it now. I'm stuck here, at least until we set sail."

"You get to see all sorts of new things, though," she offered tentatively, trying to give him something positive to think about.

"I had to get a passport. The photo is horrible. I look like Poindexter without the glasses."

She laughed out loud as she turned onto her street. "You have to send me a copy, I have to see that."

"I'm not sending anyone copies, especially you, Sam. It's hideous." He choked on a laugh. "And you know it has to be for me to say that. I sound like a Paulina, almost."

"But you have to say it with her accent, and that annoying voice of hers," Sam teased.

"No thanks," was his immediate refusal. "I'd rather have my teeth pulled without Novocain." There was a pause and then Danny was cursing quietly. "Dammit. Sam, I'm sorry, I have to go. There's a curfew and I can't get caught with this cell. I have to be able to talk to you guys."

If it wasn't such a girly move, she would have sighed forlornly. "It's alright, Danny. I have to go home and face the music."

"Your mom, huh?" he asked sympathetically.

"Oh yeah. But call me soon? Let me know how you are? And Tucker, too," she added breathlessly, overeager to try and pretend that she wasn't desperate to talk to him more, or at least again as soon as possible.

"I will," he promised. "Miss you already, Sam."

The click and dial tone was painful to hear; he hadn't even said goodbye properly. But, Sam thought, that might be self defense. Maybe he just didn't want to say goodbye to her because he felt the same way. A girl could dream. But for now, she had to try climbing the trellis to her grandmother's room. In the dark.

Maybe yelling at her mother again was a better idea.

xXx

If he hadn't spent so much time in the last two years fighting ghosts nearly nonstop, he would probably have been a little more tired after the morning's exhausting drills. He had tested competently as a swimmer, which was expected. He certainly wasn't going to do it professionally, but he'd spent a lot of time on the beaches of Lake Michigan and learning to swim and float had kind of been a necessity. In fact, Danny was a little surprised that there were people who _couldn't_ swim, especially in this day and age. But not everyone had a fondness for water or a body of it readily available to play in.

The first aid sessions had gone even better, also what he'd expected. After all of the crap he'd been through not to have learned as much as he had would be pretty sad. Though being named a junior medic wasn't planned. However, he certainly wasn't going to say no, since he knew that he was capable. And it also made him look a bit more responsible, something that might help offset this junior gang member label he'd been tagged with.

Of course, it might make it look worse, like he was always patching himself and his nonexistent gang up. Which was just an annoying thing to realize.

He'd been subjected to everything by the captain of the ship, who pretty much just introduced himself as Cap and put him through his paces. The man was probably his father's age, but that was where the similarities seemed to end. Where his father was large and burly, Cap was much leaner and obviously prepared to back up his orders with force, something Danny had been informed of early on.

There would be no dissension in the ranks, all orders were to be followed immediately for safety purposes, and if they weren't, well… And his parents signed him up for this!

He'd spent the night reading the packet Cap had given him, learning everything he could before he actually got shipped out literally. Danny didn't feel much better for it, though, since most of it looked like it needed practical application to be learned properly. At least he knew which side was port and which was starboard. Though he did wonder what was wrong with left and right.

He'd learn a lot more shortly because they were on their way out to the _Albatross II_, a short boat ride from the dock. Under other circumstances, Danny thought he'd probably have enjoyed his ride out to the ship. The powerboat he was in seemed to be flying, salty spray kicking up into his face. It stung his eyes and tasted extremely unpleasant, but he didn't mind that so much.

The ship itself sat easily in the water, a gleaming white thing with ten dark portholes running down its side. The two masts rose tall and dark, rather majestic over the body of the _Albatross_ itself. Great white sails were still furled along them. It was a sight to behold, no matter the circumstances Danny could agree with that. But he didn't have to like it.

The ride out to the ship was short and within minutes Cap eased the small powerboat alongside the much larger craft. There was no easy way onto the ship, just a semi-precarious climb up a rope ladder with his duffel slung across his back. Danny was sure at least twice that he was going to fall, but he made it all the way up and onto the deck of the ship before feeling the need to sink down and sit on the dark, solid wood beneath him.

"You'll get used to it, Danny," Cap told him as he followed closely behind, offering a hand to pull him back to his feet.

"Do I have to?" Danny asked, hoping he didn't sound like a whiny idiot.

Cap only chuckled a little. "That is your way on and off the _Albatross_ when we're not docked, so yeah, you do. But you did fine. You didn't fall, and you didn't turn green. I'll bet you don't even get seasick."

Danny paled at the thought. Seasick wasn't something he'd considered when he listed all of his grievances about being thrown into this mess. He'd have to revise his list now; just one more strike against his parents' judgment of him and their idea of punishment. Or reformation. Whatever, he didn't care about the semantics right now.

"Alright, guys, gather round. We've got our last crew member to introduce," Cap called.

Danny tensed as a group of boys h is age emerged from various places on the deck. Several of them were taller than he, the rest his own height or shorter. Danny spent the next minute cataloguing the ones he thought were going to be a problem and dismissing the rest, a talent he'd learned thanks to Dash and his cronies. He heaved an inward sigh. Most of them looked like they could be trouble.

"This is Danny," was the short introduction he was given before Cap went through them one at a time, first names only. It was annoying, because Danny doubted he would remember any of the names, but he had months to learn.

He tried to match them with his new found mental images of them. Robbie, who was lean and very Latin looking; James who gave him a smirk from beneath too-long brown hair. Luke, he Danny pinned as a smarmy trouble make even though he had the surfer good looks that probably netted him a different girl every weekend. Ricky was a large plain boy that was close enough to Luke that Danny expected it was gang behavior in the making.

Jimmy was smaller with red hair and seemed to be trying to fade into the background. George seemed to be joining him in the wallflower habit, though Danny blinked at the afterimage behind him before it faded out making him wonder if he'd already succumbed to heat stroke. And Matt, the last one, who made Danny shiver a little as he was forcibly reminded of Vlad, despite having dark hair and dark eyes that were a complete polar opposite of the fruit loop.

He gave a weak smile and wave before Cap hustled him down below deck to show him his assigned bunk. Danny followed, hating how obedient he was having to be. But he figured he was going to hate just about everything about this because of the complete and utter injustice of being forced here.

"Most everyone had choice of bunks, but since you're last man aboard you get the last bunk." Was it Danny's imagination or did he hear a note of apology? He shrugged it off as the older man continued. "You'll be in with Robbie. I know you already know the rules, but I want to make it clear that _anything_ going on not on the up and up is going to get you busted. We clear?"

"Crystal," was all Danny said, hoping that it didn't sound too cold. Regardless of not deserving to be here, he sure as hell didn't want to start it off on the wrong foot.

"This is the common area," Cap went on as if Danny hadn't just come close to a verbal blizzard. "Cassie—you'll meet her later—and I have the rear cabin, Flipper—whom you'll also meet later—has the bow compartment. Head and showers are starboard, galley is port."

Danny blinked blankly for a moment until his mind retrieved the definitions, making him wrinkle his nose in distaste. Would it really be so hard to just say left and right? He tried not to bare his teeth too much, but for some reason the idea of just growling was very appealing. And again, Cap seemed not to notice. Danny wasn't sure whether he needed to be grateful for that or worried, considering his quick mental dossiers of his co-thugs aboard.

"You're going to be second cabin down on the right," Danny was informed, inordinately thankful for the non-nautical speak, even if he knew that was going to stop quickly. "I'll leave you to get settled."

There were at least real doors, even if there were no locks, he noticed as he let himself in and closed the door behind him. Not that he'd expected locks; that would be asking for far too much. Even if he was pretty sure he'd like to lock at least half of the other boys out. He just didn't know this Robbie character well enough to have an idea of whether getting locked in with him was at all safe.

It was larger than he'd expected, but Danny didn't feel any better about it. The floor was the same dark wood of the deck and the walls were an off-white that wasn't too blinding. There were two small desks against one of the walls complete with chairs that looked to have nylon cord securing them to the desks themselves. For rough weather, Danny supposed. The beds were more like bunk beds, secured to the other wall. The bottom one was already made up and there was a paperback lying open and face down on it. Danny sighed as he heaved his duffel up to the top one before stepping to the hull wall and looking out of one of the two portholes in the room.

This was a nightmare. An outlandish, horrible, terrible nightmare that he just couldn't wake up from.

He started when the cabin door burst open and the slim Latino boy came to a screeching halt to be framed by the door itself. Danny offered him a weak smile as he said, "Robbie, right?" vaguely recalling the name to face from the introductions he'd been put through not ten minutes ago.

The other boy, Robbie, regarded him cautiously as he nodded. "So what're you in for?"

Danny tensed and then forced his body to relax, muscle by muscle, until he was standing a little easier instead of ready to throttle his parents. Again. "My parents think I'm in a gang."

"Ah," was Robbie's sage reply. "I get into fights. A lot of them." Then he smiled in a disarmingly charming manner, shrugging and making Danny chuckle a bit. "I don't start them, but I do finish them."

"I know the feeling," was Danny's heartfelt sentiment.

"Alright, might as well get this out of the way," Robbie began as he closed the door behind him. Danny wondered at that, suddenly concerned that he was about to get into a fight for no reason. "Some of the other guys have a problem with it, but since I'm not sleeping in the same room as them I don't give a damn. You, however, I'm required to give a damn about what you think."

"About what?" was Danny's curious questioning now that he was pretty sure he was going to be on the receiving end of some hazing style ass kicking.

"I'm gay. Is that going to be a problem?"

"Uh, no," Danny replied automatically. "Not a problem, I don't care. Just, uh, don't hit on me, okay?"

Robbie laughed at him. "Another one of those straight boys. Don't worry, you're not my type." He waggled black brows suggestively making Danny want to cringe and double over laughing at the same time. "I like my men blond and buff."

"Oh. Oh god," Danny wheezed as the need to laugh overpowered any discomfort he was feeling about bunking with the boy. "Oh, I know someone who fits that bill perfectly."

"Do you really?" Robbie drawled. "You'll have to share that one with me, D."

"D?" Danny asked.

Robbie shrugged, amused. "One syllable. Which is one less than saying Danny. Come on, D, let's introduce you to the _Albatross_ before we port out tomorrow morning."

"Port out, huh? You already know how to sale?"

Again, Robbie smiled, and this time Danny could see the amused teasing in it when he waggled his eyebrows. "What can I say? I'm a man of many talents. You can put your stuff away later, come on."


End file.
